PANAJI
Goa government has directed the Prisons Department to set up a dedicated cell for expediting the processing of mercy petitions from death row convicts and curbing unexplained delays by executive authorities.
The directive comes in pursuance of a Supreme Court ruling from December 9, 2024, which called for structured guidelines to ensure prompt handling of such petitions. According to an order issued by the State Home Department, the newly established guidelines are designed to enhance efficiency and transparency in the process.
“As soon as a mercy petition is received by the dedicated cell, copies shall be forwarded to the Secretariat of the Governor of Goa or the President of India, as the case may be, to facilitate timely action,” the order states.
The new procedures will be implemented alongside existing provisions outlined in Chapter XII of the Goa Prisons Rules, 2021, which govern prisoners sentenced to death. To speed up communication, officials have been instructed to rely primarily on email correspondence, except in cases requiring confidentiality.
The order also mandates that death row inmates be informed of their right to file a mercy petition immediately upon confirmation of their sentence by the High Court or rejection of their appeal by the Supreme Court. Prisoners will be granted seven days to submit their petitions following such notifications.
For inmates who have not sought an appeal before the Supreme Court, the seven-day period will commence after the deadline for such appeals has passed. Jail authorities are required to ensure prisoners are made aware of their rights within this timeframe.
Upon submission of a petition, the Jail Superintendent must immediately forward copies to the dedicated cell while simultaneously collecting relevant details from investigating agencies such as the convict’s criminal history, information on the convict’s family members, the economic status of the convict and their family, the date of arrest and the duration of incarceration as an undertrial and the date of charge-sheet filing and a copy of the committal order, if applicable.
